Does the Hispanic Paradox invalidate anti-immigration sentiment?

By Hope Gillette, Saludify

The Hispanic paradox is a phrase used to describe the longevity Hispanic immigrants enjoy despite high rates of certain chronic illnesses like diabetes.

On average, Hispanics live 2.5 times longer and tend to be healthier in many aspects than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. This enigma creates a hole in the argument immigrants are responsible for significant medical costs to the United States.

“Anti-immigrant sentiment is so high, in part because people sense they over-utilize medical care, and that’s why the cost is going up. But that’s just really not the case,” explained to the Dallas News, Dr. Kyriakos Markides at UT Galveston, who has been studying the Hispanic paradox since the 1980s.

What’s more, Markides indicates much of the health care costs related to immigration are because most Latinos only visit the doctor once they have reached the age to enroll in Medicare. At that time, age-related illnesses are prevalent, but many of these could have been prevented with earlier detection.

In fat, if Hispanics visited the doctor as regularly as non-Hispanic whites, it is possible the Hispanic paradox wouldgrow beyond just a 2.5-year average difference.

Hispanic paradox and acculturation 

The longer Hispanics live in the states, however, the more the benefits seen with immigration decline. This process is called acculturation, and it occurs when Hispanics adopt the food culture and behavioral practices typical of people in the United States.

Acculturation is considered responsible for a general loss of family traditions, lack of exercise, poor food habits, and a reliance on prescription medications when it comes to Hispanics. As acculturation increases, Markides’s data indicates, the Hispanic paradox effect decreases, suggesting it is the U.S. way of life which may play a dominant role in medical costs.

Dr. Larissa Avilés-Santa of the National Institute of Health has been working to explain the Hispanic paradox since 2006. Her ongoing research study is looking at the diversity between Hispanics from different backgrounds, but she says the data already clearly shows similar acculturation changes once in the United States regardless of origin country.

Overall, Galveston research suggests the Hispanic paradox is most noticeable in Hispanics of Mexican descent. Mexican immigrants to the U.S. tend to eat healthier and smoke less compared to Hispanics living in Mexico, and infant mortality rates are also better for those who live in the U.S. Hispanics of Puerto Rican descent are the only group to have some atypical characteristics.

“Those who had spent a longer time in the United States or had adopted certain characteristics of the U.S. lifestyle, and Puerto Ricans, seem to have a higher cluster of cardiovascular disease risk factors,” she said.

Anti-immigration arguments based on the principle of medical costs can no longer look to immigrants as scapegoats.

With the Affordable Care Act extending coverage to millions of Hispanics by the year 2014, it is possible this group will prove to be the healthiest demographic in the United States, especially if insurance coverage can encourage Latinos to seek medical treatment earlier rather than in advanced disease stages.

This article was first published in Saludify.

Hope Gillette is an award winning author and novelist. She has been active in the veterinary industry for over 10 years, and her experience extends from exotic animal care to equine sports massage.